The Secretary of State for the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Díli, May 16, 2012
Handover at the Timor-Leste Development Partners Meeting
The Timor-Leste Development Partners Meeting (TLDPM) held this week at the Díli Convention Centre has concluded, the last to be held under the mandate of the IVth Constitutional Government. The two-day meeting saw a gathering of over 350 participants from 16 countries.
Supporting the TLPDM has been a priority of the Gusmão Government to ensure the promotion of better communication and coordination between development partners, the Government and other stakeholders. The ultimate aim of this is to achieve better results for the people of Timor-Leste through more effective partnerships.
Continuing the tradition of bringing together a large group of stakeholders, this year around a third of invitations were issued to Government and State Institutions, a third to Development Partners and a third to Civil Society, representatives of the private sector, academia and the church. To foster public education and transparency the event was broadcast live on television and radio.
The TLDPM was supported by the highest level of leadership with the President of the Republic, His Excellency Dr Jose Ramos Horta, offering opening remarks and the Prime Minister, His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, giving a keynote address and also closing the event. Considering that the meeting this year was close to the end of mandate, the meeting was an occasion to reflect on challenges and achievements of the past five years, to consider lessons learned and to identify the opportunities of the future.
As the meeting drew to a close a very important ceremony was held. For the first time in the history of Timor-Leste the work for a proper handover to the incoming Government has been completed.
The Handover Ceremony saw documents passed to the Prime Minister by each Minister and Secretary of Government. Their Handover Reports contain comprehensive information on the organisational and staffing structure of Ministries and Secretariats, the programs and projects that they are undertaking, budget information, relevant legal frameworks and the capacity to support the program of the incoming Government.
This procedure is to enable a smooth transition to a new administration after the Parliamentary elections in July. By embedding this reform in the processes of Government at the end of each mandate, the Gusmão Government has made sure that the State and the Civil Service can continue to operate effectively regardless of who forms Government. In this way, the Civil Service will not have to start from scratch with each new administration but can support any incoming Government from day one with all the information and advice that is required to ensure the effective transition from one Government to the next.
The documents will now be passed across to both the President of the Republic and the National Parliament before the end of the current Government’s mandate.
After the Handover was completed by members of Government it was then the turn of the Development Partners and Civil Society to present their Handover Reports. They too provided information on their assistance and performance over the last five years.
The Prime Minister noted in his closing speech “This is a remarkable milestone in our development and confirms that we are focussed on what we can achieve in the future and not just about the past.”
Government Spokesperson Secretary of State Ágio Pereira noted that “the Timor-Leste Development Partners Meeting has again been a great success and the implementation of the Handover process is a sign of our growing political maturity.” He thanked the event team and all participants for their good work.